An Informed View of South Africa, Africa and the World

#Blackface = #Dizonzo?

If people find #Blackface just as offensive, distasteful and racist as calling a black person Kaffir, why not #Dizonzo, which continues to being played by black kids (#Dizonzo)?

And do not go about lecturing me on how “Boer” is a farmer and all that nonsense. It is offensive to me. Yes, some of ya’ll will jump, insisting this is different from calling one Kaffir. I recently wrote on Facebook that:

“#‎Blackface I think while racism is well and alive in SA and while other racist acts are subtle than others, I however, think that South Africans can be overly insensitive and at times unfair… Let me explain that. Oh, here, particularly, I’m ONLY referring to this #Blackface controversy. It is my view that there is nothing wrong with what those two Tuks students did when they painted their faces black and extended their (ugly and flat?) asses with some pillows (or God knows what else!). Their ONLY sin is that they are white and NOT black. Period!

Again, let me explain that as surely I bet ya’ll are about to cut my head off, insinuating I’m defending those jackasses. Well, no, I am not. I’m stating the fact here, one I’ve seen, lived and witnessed when I was growing up (oh, I’m still growing up even now, okay). Here’s why (and yes, you might think this is different). What those two jackasses did is exact and similar to what we used to call Dizonzo back in the ages. Both young girls and boys would wear seemingly old clothes of their sisters, brothers, grannies and parents, mostly women’s, they’d wear the Duke and worn out shoes, carry sticks with them and pretending to be old grandpas and grandmas, and in a group.

Oh, did I mention that they’d put on that dark dirt from a outside of a 3-foot pot on their face to look very scary and sing and dance? Yes, they did that! That’s right. This often scared the shit out of young kids. All the while earning a few rands. Yes, that’s right. This would often happen around towards the end of the year, Oct/Nov/Dec every bloody year. Now, it is my view – and I’m in a right state of mind just in case you think I’m not – that what these two white students did may be seen as racism ONLY because it was done by some whities and not us darkies this time around YET we, black kids growing up, used to do it, going around the village, dancing and moving from house to house.”

So, if you can find #Blackface racist and insensitive – why can’t or shouldn’t #Dizonzo be seen in the same light?

No-one has, to date, tried to make sense of in what light and or context should #Dizonzo be seen because it looks no different from #Blackface except that the former is a game played by black kids while the latter is, it now seems, one played by white kids.

Again, given all the controversy this #Blackface controversy has created, and how many people, particularly blacks and some other whites feel offended about it, one is tempted to now wonder whether the Equality Court Judgement was correct to make those findings it did in Julius Malema’s singing of “Kill the boer” song in the manner it did – rightly or wrongly.

I am not playing in the hands of any group especially in terms of colour as some have elsewhere suggested I am, but I cannot seem to understand why, if they see #Blackface as racist and distasteful, they do not want to see #Dizonzo in the very same manner.

Let me put it this way: #Dizonzo, to me, it now seems, is like telling whites that they cannot call blacks Niggers/Kaffirs but that only Blacks can call themselves Niggers/Kaffirs (that’s basically what #Dizonzo means, for many of you who did not know).

Oh, I am not condoning any racist acts nor am I defending those two students, but merely want to understand in what context, then, is #Dizonzo to be seen.